What was the best offseason in Royals history?

Spring training is around the corner, and while teams can still make some moves, the bulk of the offseason is complete. Some Royals fans may be pleased with the improvement the Royals made with the roster, while others may conclude the team failed to do enough to upgrade the outfield. Either way, it is probably not the best (or worst) offseason the Royals have ever had.

But looking back, what was the best offseason in Royals history? I’m not talking about the most exciting offseasons in Royals history. By that measure, the most exciting offseason might be one after the 1989 season, when the Royals signed reigning Cy Young winner Mark Davis, along with 19-game winner Storm Davis, giving them a pitching staff that was the envy of baseball. Except it didn’t work out at all, and both high-priced free agents were huge busts.

No, I’m talking about moves that worked. Some were exciting moves at the time, others flew under the radar, but these offseasons turned out to be very productive ones for the Royals.

1969-1970

Traded Joe Foy to the Mets for Amos Otis

Drafted Ken Wright in the Rule 5 draft

Offseasons in the pre-free agency age were much slower since there wasn’t a flurry of veterans changing teams on free agent deals. You could select any of a number of offseasons under Cedric Tallis for being great – pretty much each winter he plucked a promising player from another organization that would eventually become a star. In December of 1969, he grabbed Amos Otis from the Mets. A year later, he stole Fred Patek from the Pirates. The next December, he picked up future slugger John Mayberry from the Astros. And the following offseason, he landed Hal McRae from the Reds. These offseason trades didn’t seem like a big deal at the time, but Tallis was building the foundation of several division-title-winning teams, one player at a time.

1983-1984

Traded Duane Dewey and Mike Armstrong to the Yankees for Steve Balboni and Roger Erickson

Traded John Serritella, Joe Szekely, and Jose Torres to the Dodgers for Joe Beckwith

Traded Willie Aikens to the Blue Jays for Jorge Orta

No big names, but the team acquired some important role players for the 1985 championship team. Balboni went from being a Triple-A masher in the Yankees farm system to setting a Royals club record with 36 home runs in 1985 as their first baseman. Beckwith was a valuable reliever on that team, and Orta was famously called “safe” in the critical ninth inning of Game Six, fueling a rally.

1995-1996

Traded Wally Joyner and Aaron Dorlarque to the Padres for Bip Roberts and Bryan Wolff

Traded Billy Brewer to the Dodgers for Jose Offerman

Traded Brent Mayne to the Mets for Al Shirley

Traded Geno Morones, Derek Wallace, and John Carter to the Mets for Jason Jacome and Allen McDill

Signed Jeff Montgomery to a two-year, $4.75 million contract

Signed Mike MacFarlane to a two-year, $1.6 million contract

Signed Mark Gubicza to a one-year, $1.6 million contract

Signed Tim Belcher to a one-year, $1.4 million contract

The Joyner deal didn’t really work out well, but the Royals needed to clear a logjam at first (Bob Hamelin and Joe Vitiello needed playing time to prove they couldn’t hit) and the team had long coveted Bip Roberts. Unfortunately, he couldn’t provide enough pop and was a poor defender. The team got much better value resurrecting Jose Offerman’s career by moving him to first base and letting him focus on hitting. The Royals found a bargain with veteran starting pitcher Tim Belcher, who ended up winning 15 games and was a 4.8 rWAR pitcher for them that year. MacFarlane happily returned after one year in Boston, and Jeff Montgomery still had something left in the tank as a closer.

1996-1997

Traded Jeff Martin, Joe Randa, Jeff Granger, and Jeff Wallace to the Pirates for Jeff King and Jay Bell

Traded Mark Gubicza to the Angels for Chili Davis

Traded Keith Lockhart and Michael Tucker to the Braves for Jermaine Dye and Jamie Walker

The Royals didn’t win much under Herk Robinson as GM, but he did pull off a couple good offseasons. Teams around baseball were mad that they got All-Stars Jeff King and Jay Bell from the cost-conscious Pirates in exchange for four marginal prospects. Chili Davis hit a career-high 30 home runs, while Gubicza barely pitched for the Angels due to injury. And while Joe Posnanski criticized the Jermaine Dye deal at the time, it turned out to be a fantastic trade for a future All-Star. And yet, despite these good moves, the Royals finished with 94 losses, at the time, the second-worst season in club history.

2010-2011

Traded Zack Greinke to the Milwaukee Brewers for Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, Jake Odorizzi, and Jeremy Jeffress

Traded David DeJesus to the Athletics for Justin Marks and Vin Mazzaro

Signed Melky Cabrera to a one-year, $1.25 million contract

Signed Jeff Franceour to a one-year, $2.5 million contract

Signed Jeff Francis to a one-year, $2 million contract

Signed Bruce Chen to a one-year, $2 million contract

Zack Greinke grew tired of losing, and who could blame him? Dayton Moore accommodated his request and even turned down a potential trade to Washington because Greinke wanted to play for a contender. The Brewers offered a package of four players that seemed a bit underwhelming at the time ,considering some of the other rumors floated, but it turned into one of the best trades of the decade. Escobar and Cain became All-Stars and pillars for two pennant-winning Royals clubs, and Odorizzi became a top 100 prospect and valuable prospect to help land James Shields in a trade.

The Royals also received tremendous value in landing former top prospect Melky Cabrera and Jeff Francoeur. The Royals took a gamble on young players hungry to turn their careers around. Cabrera was a 4.4 rWAR player, while Francoeur wasa 3.2 rWAR player with a 20 HR/20 SB season.

2012-2013

Traded Wil Myers, Jake Odorizzi, Mike Montgomery, and Patrick Leonard to the Rays for Wade Davis, James Shields, and Elliot Johnson

Signed Jeremy Guthrie to a three-year, $25 million contract

Signed Miguel Tejada to a minor league deal

Claimed George Kottaras off waivers

The Royals had acquired Guthrie midseason from Colorado for Jonathan Sanchez in a swap of pitchers enduring awful seasons. Guthrie and the Royals liked each other so much, they agreed on a three-year deal that would keep Guthrie in Kansas City long enough to pitch Game 7 of the 2014 World Series.

But the big trade that offseason was the polarizing James Shields trade, an all-in move by Dayton Moore that could have gotten him fired. Instead, the team made a late run for the postseason in 2013, then grabbed a Wild Card spot the next year and went on an amazing run that resulted in the third pennant in club history. Wil Myers was acclaimed as the top prospect in baseball, and while he had a nice career, Royals fans won’t lament losing him for the two years Shields provided. And little did anyone know, but Wade Davis would soon become one of the best relievers in baseball, making the deal even better.

2014-2015

Traded Aaron Crow to the Marlins for Reid Redman and Brian Flynn

Signed Edinson Volquez to a two-year, $20 million contract

Signed Kendrys Morales to a two-year, $17 million contract

Signed Luke Hochevar to a two-year, $10 million contract

Signed Kris Medlen to a two-year, $8.5 million contract

Signed Jason Frasor to a one-year, $1.4 million contract

Signed Chris Young to a one-year, $675,000 contract

Signed Ryan Madson and Joe Blanton to minor league deals

The Royals were coming off a surprise pennant, but the stinging loss to the Giants only made them hungrier, not complacent. They kept their bullpen depth by bringing back Frasor and Hochevar, and also found some terrific finds with veterans Madson and Blanton. Chris Young fell into their lap with an absurd deal, and they also played the market well in landing slugger Kendrys Morales on a cheaper deal than expected. Edinson Volquez had been inconsistent in his career, but he gave the Royals two solid years. The moves weren’t necessarily that flashy at the time, but they solidified the roster of a championship team.

2023-2024

Traded David Sandlin to the Red Sox for John Schreiber

Traded Jackson Kowar to the Braves for Kyle Wright

Purchased Nick Anderson from the Braves

Signed Seth Lugo to a three-year, $45 million contract with an opt out

Signed Michael Wacha to a two-year, $32 million contract with an opt out

Signed Hunter Renfroe to a two-year, $13 million contract

Signed Adam Frazier to a one-year, $4.5 million contract

Signed Will Smith to a one-year, $5 million contract

Signed Chris Stratton to a one-year, $3.5 million contract

Signed Garrett Hampson to a one-year, $2 million contract

The Royals had been rebuilding for years, but J.J. Picollo felt it was time to begin building toward something after a 106-loss 2023 season. The bullpen moves didn’t really pan out – Smith, Stratton and Anderson had several early-season blow-ups that almost torpedoed the season. And Hunter Renfroe was on his last legs, eventually getting released midway through the second year of his deal. But the upgrades to the starting rotation had a huge impact, with Seth Lugo becoming an All-Star and Cy Young runner up, and Michael Wacha turning in a very solid season.

What was the best offseason in Royals history?

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